was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from

Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the nor ...

. He was the sport's 47th

yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

, fighting at the sport's highest rank from 1961 to 1969. After his retirement he became an elder of the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). '' Rikishi'' (active ...

and ran his own training stable from 1970 until his death.

Career

Born in what is now part of the city of

Tsuruoka is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 125,389 in 49,024 households, and a population density of 95.74 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Tsuruoka is the biggest city in Tōhoku region ...

in the northern prefecture of Yamagata, he made his professional debut in September 1954, joining

Isenoumi stable is a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. Its current head coach is former ''maegashira'' Kitakachidoki Hayato, Kitakachidoki. As of January 2022 it had 12 ...

. He initially fought under his real name and rose rapidly up the rankings, reaching the top ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...

'' division in September 1958. In only his fourth top division tournament, coinciding with his adoption of the ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the '' rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' ...

'' surname Kashiwado, he was runner-up to ''

Tochinishiki was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokyo. He was the sport's 44th ''yokozuna''. He won ten top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships and was a rival of fellow ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana I. He became the head coach of Kasug ...

with a 13–2 record and earned special prizes for Fighting Spirit and Technique. He made the ''

sanyaku The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' ranks in November 1959, earning promotion to '' ōzeki'' in September 1960 and taking his first top division ''

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Y� ...

'' or championship in January 1961. After taking part in a playoff for the championship in September of that year, he was promoted to yokozuna, joining the aging pair of Asashio and Wakanohana who were soon to retire. Kashiwado handprint

Kashiwado changed the spelling of his ring name to in May 1962, but changed it back in November 1964. He went on to win five top division championships in total, a long way behind the thirty-two captured by his rival Taihō, who was promoted to ''yokozuna'' simultaneously with him. He was however a tournament runner-up on no fewer than fifteen occasions. Kashiwado suffered from many injury problems during his career, which led to him being dubbed the "glass ''yokozuna''". He failed to complete four tournaments in a row from January to July 1963. However he made a spectacular comeback in September 1963, winning his first championship as a ''yokozuna'' with a perfect 15–0 record. He was listed as a ''yokozuna'' on the ''

banzuke A , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament (''honbasho''). The term can also refer to the rankings themselves. The document is normally released about two w ...

'' for 47 tournaments, which puts him in equal seventh place on the all-time list. He was popular among sumo crowds, appealing to those who found Taihō too dominant. The eight years in which the two shared the ''yokozuna'' rank was known as the ''Hakuhō'' era, a combination of their names (''Haku'' is another reading of ''Kashi''.) Their head-to-head record was fairly even, standing at 18-16 in Taihō's favour by May 1967, before Taihō won their last five matches in a row as Kashiwado began to fade.

Fighting style

Kashiwado's favoured ''

kimarite ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the '' gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The r ...

'' or techniques were ''migi-yotsu'' (a left hand outside, right hand inside grip on the opponents ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a v ...

''), ''yorikiri'' (force out) and ''tsukidashi'' (thrust out). In all, about sixty percent of his wins were by either force out or force out and down (''yoritaoshi'').

Retirement from sumo

After retiring from active competition in July 1969 Kashiwado remained in the sumo world as an elder, and he opened up his own stable, Kagamiyama, in November 1970. In July 1975 he oversaw the simultaneous promotion of Zaonishiki and Konuma to ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

''. He coached Tagaryū to the ''sekiwake'' rank, and a top division championship in September 1984. He also served as a director of the

Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). '' Rikishi'' (activ ...

and was head of the judges committee until 1994. He died of liver failure in 1996, at the age of 58. Taihō was at Kashiwado's bedside and was distraught over his death. The former Tagaryu took over the running of Kagamiyama stable, which still exists as of 2020 but with only two wrestlers.

Career record

*''The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.''

References

External links